Differentiating (disease name) from other diseases page

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Charmaine Patel, M.D. [2]

Introduction to the Differentiating (Disease Name) From Other Diseases Page

• This chapter covers the process that is traditionally known as "differential diagnosis".
• The page name should be "Differentiating (disease name) from other diseases", with only the first letter of the title capitalized.
• Goal: To provide information on a systematic method of differentiating a given disease from other diseases that may present similarly.
• For an example of a microchapter on differentiating disease, click here.
• Search the disease database (http://diseasesdatabase.com/content.asp) to assure the content for this page is complete.
• As with all microchapter pages linking to the main page, at the top of the edit box put {{CMG}}, your name template, and the microchapter navigation template you created at the beginning.
• Remember to create links within Wikidoc by placing [[square brackets]] around key words which you want to link to other pages. Make sure you make your links as specific as possible. For example if a sentence contained the phrase anterior spinal artery syndrome, the link should be to anterior spinal artery syndrome not anterior or artery or syndrome. For more information on how to create links click here.
• Remember to follow the same format and capitalization of letters as outlined in the template below.
• You should include the name of the disease in the first sentence of every subsection.

Overview

• The overview section should include the disease name in the first sentence.
• The goal is to summarize the page several sentences, usually stating the categories that the disease is classified by.
• This section can be the same as the differentiating disease section in the overview page.

Template

• First Sentence:

[Disease name] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], [clinical feature 2], and [clinical feature 3], such as [differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

OR

[Disease name] must be differentiated from [[differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

OR

[Disease name] must be differentiated from other causes of [symptom/sign], such as [Differential 1], [Differential 2], and [Differential 3].

• Examples:

Example 1: Hepatitis C must be differentiated from other diseases that cause hepatic injury and abnormal liver function tests, such as other viral hepatitides (Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis E), alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, drug-induced liver injury, autoimmune hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Example 2: Colorectal cancer must be differentiated from other diseases that cause unexplained weight loss, unexplained loss of appetite, abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, and fatigue, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and diverticular disease.

Example 3: Colorectal cancer must be differentiated from Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and diverticular disease.

Example 4: Pericarditis must be differentiated from other causes of chest pain, such as myocardial infarction, aortic dissection, and pulmonary embolism.

Preferred Template Statements

• [Disease name] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], [clinical feature 2], and [clinical feature 3], such as [differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].
• [Disease name] must be differentiated from [[differential dx1], [differential dx2], and [differential dx3].

IF the disease has multiple subtypes and the subtypes do not have the same differential diagnoses:

• As [disease name] manifests in a variety of clinical forms, differentiation must be established in accordance with the particular subtype. [Subtype name 1] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 1], such as [differential dx1] and [differential dx2]. In contrast, [subtype name 2] must be differentiated from other diseases that cause [clinical feature 2], such as [differential dx3] and [differential dx4].

Differentiating (Disease name) from other Diseases

• In this section you will outline the conditions or diseases that may often be confused with the disease you are describing.
• You can list the diseases, include major clinical features of each differential diagnosis including major symptoms, physical exam findings, and provide a brief description of how each disease is different from the one you are describing, as seen here.
• You can differentiate physical examination characteristics from those of similar diseases.
• You can also provide guidance on the distinguishing characteristics of the physical exam findings, the laboratory findings, and other diagnostic modalities.
• A table may be helpful. It should be preceded by the following sentence:

The table below summarizes the findings that differentiate ______ dz from other conditions that may cause ____ (major symptoms) and _____ (major signs):

• If you want to have some abbreviations, you should describe them before starting the table. You can find an example here.

• The use of the following symbols may be helpful within a table:
  • ↑ and ↓ ,to signify elevations and reductions in quantitative findings.
  • + , ++, or +++ to signify varying levels of quantitative findings, - if there is a null value, and Nl if the desired value is within normal limits.
• The following table may be used as a general template for differentiating diseases from one another:

Category	Diseases	Etiology	Clinical manifestation								Paraclinical findings				Gold standard diagnosis	Associated findings
			Demography	History	Symptoms			Signs			Lab findings			Imaging
					Finding 1	Finding 2	Finding 3	Finding 1	Finding 2	Others	Finding 1	Finding 2	Histopathology
Hematology	Differential Diagnosis 1	Mutation Microorganism Unknown	Any age, more common in males	Smoking	+
	Differential Diagnosis 2							–				↑
Cardiology	Differential Diagnosis 3					±					↓
	Differential Diagnosis 4										Nl to ↓
Infection	Differential Diagnosis 5
	Differential Diagnosis 6

• This table must include the cardinal manifestations of differential diagnosis and the list of diseases must be prioritize based on mortality rate and prevalences of the diseases. For example, if you want to write a differential diagnosis table for heat stroke, sepsis, malignant hyperthermia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and serotonin syndrome first, you need to mention the cardinal manifestations for these conditions as, hyperthermia and altered mental status. Second, prioritize your list based on disease mortality or prevalence then, create the table. You can find the example here.

Differential Diagnosis	Similar Features	Differentiating Features
Differential 1	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] also observed in [disease name].	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] that distinguish it from [disease name].
Differential 2	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] also observed in [disease name].	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] that distinguish it from [disease name].
Differential 3	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] also observed in [disease name].	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] that distinguish it from [disease name].
Differential 4	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] also observed in [disease name].	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] that distinguish it from [disease name].
Differential 5	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] also observed in [disease name].	On [physical exam; history; diagnostic test; imaging], [Differential 1] {has; demonstrates} [feature 1], [feature 2], [feature 3] that distinguish it from [disease name].

Examples:

The following tables may be used as examples of different table styles for differentiating disease:

Example 1

The table below summarizes the different findings between Pericarditis and Myocardial infarction:

Characteristic/Parameter	Pericarditis	Myocardial infarction
Pain description	Sharp, pleuritic, retro-sternal (under the sternum) or left precordial (left chest) pain.	Crushing, pressure-like, heavy pain. Described as "elephant on the chest".
Radiation	Pain radiates to the trapezius ridge (to the lowest portion of the scapula on the back) or no radiation.	Pain radiates to the jaw, or the left or arm, or does not radiate.
Exertion	Does not change the pain	Can increase the pain
Position	Pain is worse supine or upon inspiration (breathing in)	Not positional
Onset/duration	Sudden pain, that lasts for hours or sometimes days before a patient comes to the ER	Sudden or chronically worsening pain that can come and go in paroxysms or it can last for hours before the patient decides to come to the ER

Example 2

The table below summarizes the findings that differentiate Shigellosis from other conditions that cause fever and hemorrhage:

Disease	Findings
EHEC	May present with fever, chills vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise, and gastointestinal bleeding that follow an incubation period of 3-7 days. Unlike E. coli, Shigella cannot ferment lactose or decarboxylate lysine.
Ebola	Presents with fever, chills vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise, and sometimes internal and external bleeding, that follow an incubation period of 2-21 days.
Typhoid fever	Presents with fever, headache, rash, gastrointestinal symptoms, with lymphadenopathy, relative bradycardia, cough and leucopenia and sometimes sore throat. Blood and stool culture can confirm the presence of the causative bacteria.
Malaria	Presents with acute fever, headache and sometimes diarrhea (children). A blood smears must be examined for malaria parasites. The presence of parasites does not exclude a concurrent viral infection. An antimalarial should be prescribed as an empiric therapy.
Lassa fever	Disease onset is usually gradual, with fever, sore throat, cough, pharyngitis, and facial edema in the later stages. Inflammation and exudation of the pharynx and conjunctiva are common.
Yellow fever and other Flaviviridae	Present with hemorrhagic complications. Epidemiological investigation may reveal a pattern of disease transmission by an insect vector. Virus isolation and serological investigation serves to distinguish these viruses. Confirmed history of previous yellow fever vaccination will rule out yellow fever.
Others	Viral hepatitis, leptospirosis, rheumatic fever, typhus, and mononucleosis can produce signs and symptoms that may be confused with Ebola in the early stages of infection.

Example 3
Stroke, must be differentiated from other diseases that may cause, altered mental status, motor and or somatosensory deficits. The table below, summarizes the differential diagnosis for stroke.

Diseases	Symptoms				Physical Examination					Past medical history	Diagnostic tests			Other Findings
	Headache	↓LOC	Motor weakness	Abnormal sensory	Motor Deficit	Sensory deficit	Speech difficulty	Gait abnormality	Cranial nerves		CT /MRI	CSF Findings	Gold standard test
Brain tumor	+	-	-	-	+	+	+	-	+	Weight loss, fatigue	+	Cancer cells	MRI	Cachexia, gradual progression of symptoms
Hemorrhagic stroke	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	Hypertension	+	-	CT scan without contrast	Neck stiffness
Subdural hemorrhage	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	+	Trauma, fall	+	Xanthochromia	CT scan without contrast	Confusion, dizziness, nausea, vomiting
Neurosyphilis	+	-	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	STIs	+	↑ Leukocytes and protein	CSF VDRL-specifc CSF FTA-Ab -sensitive	Blindness, confusion, depression, Abnormal gait
Complex or atypical migraine	+	-	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	Family history of migraine	-	-	Clinical assesment	Presence of aura, nausea, vomiting
Hypertensive encephalopathy	+	+	-	-	-	-	+	+	-	Hypertension	+	-	Clinical assesment	Delirium, cortical blindness, cerebral edema, seizure
Wernicke’s encephalopathy	-	+	-	-	-	+	+	+	+	History of alcohal abuse	-	-	Clinical assesment and lab findings	Ophthalmoplegia, confusion
CNS abscess	+	+	-	-	+	+	+	-	-	History of drug abuse, endocarditis, immunosupression	+	↑ leukocytes, ↓ glucose and ↑ protien	MRI is more sensitive and specific	High grade fever, fatigue,nausea, vomiting
Drug toxicity	-	+	-	+	+	+	-	+	-	-	-	-	Drug screen test	Lithium, Sedatives, phenytoin, carbamazepine
Conversion disorder	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+		History of emotional stress	-	-	Diagnosis of exclusion	Tremors, blindness, difficulty swallowing
Metabolic disturbances (electrolyte imbalance, hypoglycemia)	-	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	+	-	-	Hypoglycemia, hypo and hypernatremia, hypo and hyperkalemia	Depends on the cause	Confusion, seizure, palpitations, sweating, dizziness, hypoglycemia
Meningitis or encephalitis	+	-	-	-	-	+	+	-	-	History of fever and malaise	-	↑ Leukocytes, ↑ Protein ↓ Glucose	CSF analysis	Fever, neck rigidity
Multiple sclerosis exacerbation	-	-	+	+	-	+	+	+	+	History of relapses and remissions	+	↑ CSF IgG levels (monoclonal bands)	Clinical assesment and MRI	Blurry vision, urinary incontinence, fatigue
Seizure	+	+	-	-	+	+	-	-	+	Previous history of seizures	-	Mass lesion	Clinical assesment and EEG	Confusion, apathy, irritability,

References

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